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Janna Hoehn is surrounded by some of the more than 4,000 photos she’s found of fallen Vietnam veterans since 2011. She’s now asking for help to find photos of three St. Mary Parish fallen veterans. (Sue Hudelson photo)

Photos sought of St. Mary fallen Vietnam vets

By ZACHARY FITZGERALD zfitzgerald@daily-review.com

Janna Hoehn has been on a mission since 2011 to put pictures with names of everyone on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., collecting over 4,000 photos since then.

She is now seeking locals’ help to find photos of three St. Mary Parish veterans killed during the Vietnam War. Volunteers have located photos of 13 of the 16 St. Mary Parish servicemen killed in the Vietnam War.

Hoehn, of Maui, Hawaii, is a volunteer team leader with the “Wall of Faces” and Vietnam Veterans Memorial fund.

To date, those involved in the project have collected over 49,000 photos of fallen Vietnam veterans and are trying to get pictures of all 58,315 of them.

“Putting a face with a name changes the whole dynamic of the Wall,” Hoehn said in an email. “It keeps our Fallen Heroes’ memories alive and will honor them.”

She’s asking help to find photos of the three remaining St. Mary veterans on the wall, including U.S. Pfc. Dexter Joseph Lombas of Morgan City, U.S. Air Force Sgt. Allen James Bodin of Centerville, and Staff Sgt. Clarence Ivory Henry of Franklin.

Terry Mayon, co-chairman of the Tri-City Fallen Warriors Memorial, provided The Daily Review with information on each fallen veteran.

Lombas, 20, of Morgan City, died Nov. 16, 1970, from wounds suffered in combat operations four days earlier at Quang Ngai Province, Republic of Vietnam.
He was the son of Paul and Francis Lombas Jr. He was deployed to Vietnam July 24, 1970, his 20th birthday.

The Army classified his death as due to ground actions by explosive device. According to the Army, Lombas died from wounds he received while he was a passenger in a military vehicle engaged in a mission when a mine detonated.

Nine other soldiers were killed when the truck he was riding in hit a mine roughly four miles west of Quang Ngai. Lombas is buried in the St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery in Patterson. His tombstone is inscribed “CO B 1st INF 3rd BAT – PURPLE HEART”.

Bodin, 20, of Centerville, was killed Nov. 27, 1970, in Khanh Hoa, South Vietnam, in an air crash about four months after his tour began. He was assigned to the 19th Tactical Airlift Squadron.

The Army ruled his death as a non-combat casualty. Bodin was awarded the Air Medal for his service in Vietnam. The aircraft he was riding in hit a mountain 17 miles south of Nha Trang. Bodin was among six American servicemen killed in this incident.

Henry, 28, was killed in action Jan. 28, 1967, in a helicopter crash just outside Duc Pho in Ouang Tri, South Vietnam. He was the son of William and Leola Wilson Henry.

Henry joined the Marine Corps in January 1957. Henry was among seven American servicemen killed in this incident. Henry had served his country for 10 years and was assigned to HMM 262 MAG 36 1 MAR AIR WG. He was awarded the Purple Heart and Air Medal. He left behind a brother, Wilbur, and two sisters, Betty and Shirley.

About a week ago, Hoehn located a picture of U.S. Army Private 1st Class Marvin John Louviere of Morgan City. Louviere, 26, was killed Sept. 4, 1969, at An Giang Province, South Vietnam. His death is listed as a non-hostile accident, or accidental homicide, according to information Mayon provided.

At the time of his death, Louviere had been assigned as a tug boat captain in the 544th Transportation Company, 7th Transportation Battalion, 48th Transportation Group, 1st Logistic Command, U.S. Army Republic of Vietnam. He is buried at Morgan City, and his tombstone inscription reads “PFC 544 TRANS COL VIETNAM - BSM” (Bronze Star Medal).

Hoehn first began the project she’s dedicated the past six years to after seeing a story on the news about the “Faces Never Forgotten” for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, with the “goal, to put a face with every name that is etched” on the wall, she said.

Hoehn immediately decided to send in a photo of Gregory Crossman, a fallen Vietnam veteran whom Hoehn had found a picture of more than a year earlier after she did an etching of his name at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall during a visit to Washington, D.C.

Five days later, she received an email from Jan Scruggs, the founder and president of the Vietnam Wall, asking her to help him find photos of the 42 Maui County soldiers killed in Vietnam.

She gladly agreed to help because she always hoped she could do something for Vietnam veterans due to the horrible way they were treated when they returned home, she said.

Hoehn says over 500 newspapers have run stories on her search throughout Hawaii, California, Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Nevada, Colorado, North Carolina, Alaska, Utah, Montana, Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Louisiana, and she’s gotten an amazing response.

All photos Hoehn receives will be submitted to the “Wall of Faces” online memorial through the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund website, as well as in the future education center that will be adjacent to the Vietnam Wall in Washington, D.C.

Hoehn asks that any relatives, friends or classmates to any of the fallen veterans on the list to contact her. Even if you don’t have a photo, if you know what school they attended, Hoehn would like to hear from you.

Hoehn is also looking for a local volunteer to assist her if she isn’t able to get photos for three remaining men from St. Mary Parish. That may mean searching obituaries or looking through yearbooks at a high school.

People can find fallen Vietnam veterans by visiting http://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/
Photos or information may be submitted to Hoehn by email at neverforgotten2014@gmail.com.
For more information about the education center or to make a donation to help build the center, go to www.vvmf.org/thewall.

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